The Florida legislature has enacted legislation prohibiting the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary school courses. Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed support for the bill, which has been called “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents and now advances to the State Senate.
According to Mr. DeSantis and others, the Don’t Say Gay bill will allow parents to be more involved in their children’s education.
However, activists and parents are concerned that it may stigmatize and isolate LGBT youngsters.
The prohibition on teaching LGBT issues will mostly apply to sex education in elementary schools. But it will also apply to situations that are “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students”. It received a 69-47 vote in the state House of Representatives on Thursday.
“Every child has a right to speak honestly about their lives, a right to have access to a history that is honest and includes them, and a right to library books that reflect and include who they are,” said Nadine Smith, a queer mother and executive director of the Equality Florida non-profit.
“What we are seeing is the systematic erasure or elimination of those resources for young people and a gag order imposed on educators,” she said.
The bill has been slammed by the White House as “designed to attack” LGBT youngsters. But it has the votes to succeed in the Republican-controlled legislature.
Governor DeSantis is a Republican who is a prospective 2024 White House contender, backed the bill. Thereby, saying that schools should avoid teaching “entirely inappropriate” themes and instead focus on science, history, civics, and other subjects.
“Parents must have a seat at the table when it comes to what’s going on in their schools,” he said.
“No promo homo” laws
Last weekend, opponents rallied against a bill proposal that would require schools to “out” a student’s sexual orientation to parents within six weeks.
On Tuesday, State Representative Joe Harding withdrew the amendment proposal. He stated that he would rather focus on the law itself “than battle misinformation related to the amendment.”
In the United States, state laws prohibiting or restricting the discussion of LGBT issues in schools, also known as “no promo homo” laws, are not uncommon.
Anti-gay curriculum legislation is currently in place in as many as 20 states, according to Clifford Rosky. He is a law professor at the University of Utah.
The Florida bill goes much farther. It allows parents to sue school districts directly for damages if they believe an educator has broken the law.
That’s a reference to a Texas abortion measure approved last year. It allowed private citizens to sue anyone engaged in an abortion in the state.